College Board introduces redesigned SAT

BY PARKER TILLEYTeen correspondent

Published: Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at 4:08 p.m.

The College Board, a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity, announced March 5 its renewed commitment to creating equal opportunity for students through a redesigned Scholastic Assessment Test among other programs.

President David Coleman shared these updates and changes at a gathering of community leaders, students and College Board advocates in Austin, Texas. These SAT revisions, coming in spring 2016, will make the test more relevant and focused for high school students.

The first announcement was the College Board is renewing its commitment to student success and opportunity through several new initiatives. One was that opportunity would be expanded to eligible low-income students by providing them with four fee waivers to applying to college, which eliminates a large obstacle for many of these students.

Secondly, the College Board revealed it would partner with Khan Academy, a nonprofit company that provides free online learning resources for students, in order to provide free preparation materials for the new SAT. Starting in the spring of 2015, students from around the world will be able to go online for this new, innovative software that allows them to access diagnostics and step-by-step explanations. For students who are taking the SAT before 2016, other never-before-released materials have been posted on the Khan Academy website. Founder Sal Khan mentioned there is a wide gap between those who could afford test prep in the past and those who could not, and with the new Khan Academy service, that gap will be narrowed.

The most important announcement of the day was the redesigned SAT, which, according to the College Board's website, has eight key changes. While more extensive details and sample items will be released April 16, some changes have already been confirmed. First, the SAT will still have three sections: evidence-based reading and writing, mathematics and the essay (which is now optional). In regard to scoring, the scale will drop from 2,400 points to 1,600 points, with math and reading/writing being scored from 200-800 points; the essay will be scored separately. At this point, the College Board is estimating the new test will take approximately three hours to take, but more research will be conducted to confirm that number. And, for the first time ever, the SAT will be available in print and in a digital format.

Some other changes the College Board is making include the removal of "SAT words," which is what educators have defined as words that are only used on the SAT and are never utilized in real life. Instead, the new test will feature more relevant vocabulary that is used in high school and college.

Also, the reading and writing section is now "evidence-based," which means students will have to support and justify their answer. With the new essay section, students will be asked to analyze evidence that is presented and construct an argument in order to persuade the audience; changes like these are building students' skills they will need every day for college and career readiness.

Students will be pleased to hear that the math section is more focused, and rather than encompassing a broad range of concepts, it now covers three core areas: problem solving and data analysis, the heart of algebra and the passport to advanced math. Finally, the new SAT will feature a "no-penalty" policy for wrong answers, which motivates students to select the best answer for every question rather than being better off skipping the ones they do not know.

All of these changes will not come without an abundance of support from the College Board for grades six through 12 teachers; Coleman announced it would be critical over the next two years to develop and distribute new materials for teachers in addition to what is online and offer them many modules and frameworks to prepare students for success after high school and for the SAT.

While some may believe these changes come in response to the rollout of the new Common Core State Standards, that is not entirely true. The College Board saw a gap between what content was covered on the SAT and what students were learning in high school, and ever since Coleman became president of the organization, he has promised to close that gap and make things more relevant.

These changes and plans of action have not come without extensive feedback from educators, parents and students, as the College Board wanted to represent the input of these groups in order to better meet their needs. The main idea behind these changes is to move away from being an organization that only delivers assessments but rather be one that delivers opportunity to a country that is in need of it.

To learn more about these announcements or how to become involved, visit www.collegeboard.org/delivering-opportunity/sat.

<p>The College Board, a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity, announced March 5 its renewed commitment to creating equal opportunity for students through a redesigned Scholastic Assessment Test among other programs.</p><p>President David Coleman shared these updates and changes at a gathering of community leaders, students and College Board advocates in Austin, Texas. These SAT revisions, coming in spring 2016, will make the test more relevant and focused for high school students. </p><p>The first announcement was the College Board is renewing its commitment to student success and opportunity through several new initiatives. One was that opportunity would be expanded to eligible low-income students by providing them with four fee waivers to applying to college, which eliminates a large obstacle for many of these students. </p><p>Secondly, the College Board revealed it would partner with Khan Academy, a nonprofit company that provides free online learning resources for students, in order to provide free preparation materials for the new SAT. Starting in the spring of 2015, students from around the world will be able to go online for this new, innovative software that allows them to access diagnostics and step-by-step explanations. For students who are taking the SAT before 2016, other never-before-released materials have been posted on the Khan Academy website. Founder Sal Khan mentioned there is a wide gap between those who could afford test prep in the past and those who could not, and with the new Khan Academy service, that gap will be narrowed. </p><p>The most important announcement of the day was the redesigned SAT, which, according to the College Board's website, has eight key changes. While more extensive details and sample items will be released April 16, some changes have already been confirmed. First, the SAT will still have three sections: evidence-based reading and writing, mathematics and the essay (which is now optional). In regard to scoring, the scale will drop from 2,400 points to 1,600 points, with math and reading/writing being scored from 200-800 points; the essay will be scored separately. At this point, the College Board is estimating the new test will take approximately three hours to take, but more research will be conducted to confirm that number. And, for the first time ever, the SAT will be available in print and in a digital format. </p><p>Some other changes the College Board is making include the removal of "SAT words," which is what educators have defined as words that are only used on the SAT and are never utilized in real life. Instead, the new test will feature more relevant vocabulary that is used in high school and college.</p><p>Also, the reading and writing section is now "evidence-based," which means students will have to support and justify their answer. With the new essay section, students will be asked to analyze evidence that is presented and construct an argument in order to persuade the audience; changes like these are building students' skills they will need every day for college and career readiness.</p><p>Students will be pleased to hear that the math section is more focused, and rather than encompassing a broad range of concepts, it now covers three core areas: problem solving and data analysis, the heart of algebra and the passport to advanced math. Finally, the new SAT will feature a "no-penalty" policy for wrong answers, which motivates students to select the best answer for every question rather than being better off skipping the ones they do not know. </p><p>All of these changes will not come without an abundance of support from the College Board for grades six through 12 teachers; Coleman announced it would be critical over the next two years to develop and distribute new materials for teachers in addition to what is online and offer them many modules and frameworks to prepare students for success after high school and for the SAT. </p><p>While some may believe these changes come in response to the rollout of the new Common Core State Standards, that is not entirely true. The College Board saw a gap between what content was covered on the SAT and what students were learning in high school, and ever since Coleman became president of the organization, he has promised to close that gap and make things more relevant.</p><p>These changes and plans of action have not come without extensive feedback from educators, parents and students, as the College Board wanted to represent the input of these groups in order to better meet their needs. The main idea behind these changes is to move away from being an organization that only delivers assessments but rather be one that delivers opportunity to a country that is in need of it. </p><p>To learn more about these announcements or how to become involved, visit www.collegeboard.org/delivering-opportunity/sat.</p>